1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to films and methods for the removal of applied films.
2. Description of Related Art
At present, the development of coating materials that cause little or no environmental pollution and promise to conserve energy has been advancing to a large extent. In recent years, a great need has arisen for suitable methods for recovering and putting to reuse (recycling) articles that are coated with an applied film. When these coated articles are to be actually recovered and reused, however, difficulty is often encountered in removing the applied films from the coated articles, thus posing a serious obstacle. Particularly, substances such as plastics tend to aggravate the difficulty incurred in recovering and reusing the coated articles because they generally cannot be heated. However, in the case of an applied film which is intended to provide temporary protection for a coated article during fabrication, it is often preferable that the applied film be capable of being removed from the coated article with simplicity.
The resin for forming an applied film is generally a macromolecular substance which is capable of enabling the applied film to manifest superior and/or perfect film properties. Often, the applied film is in a cross-linked state. It is extremely difficult to remove this applied film simply using an organic solvent. This fact constitutes a serious hindrance to recovering and reusing the coated article. For the applied film to be easily removed, it might be thought that it would suffice to incorporate an easily severable bond into the applied film. However, a bond which is easily separable may possess inferior weatherability and, therefore, often proves to be unfit for a binder of a coating material.